


It's Not Really a Christmas Party

by CookieDoughMe



Series: Decades and Generations (for Haven Month 2020) [1]
Category: Haven (TV)
Genre: 10 years of Haven, 2.13 - Silent Night as a prompt, Christmas in Haven, Diverges from canon, Fluff, Gen, HAPPY TEARS THOUGH, Not Canon Compliant, christmas in july, havenmonth, i mean it's kind of fluffy at least - I did actually make myself cry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:53:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25031239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CookieDoughMe/pseuds/CookieDoughMe
Summary: This is prompted by the idea of Christmas in July and by 10 years of Haven (it first aired in July 2010), and specifically bythis tumblr postwhich sets out a month of themes to celebrate :)In the fic, it's 10 years since the Troubles ended (in a verynon-canon-compliant way:) and the town is getting ready for it's annual July tradition.
Series: Decades and Generations (for Haven Month 2020) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1825660
Comments: 10
Kudos: 13
Collections: Haven Month 2020





	It's Not Really a Christmas Party

Jean looked around the Grey Gull at the party preparations being made. It seemed like it was going to be fun, and she was looking forward to it. She'd been here a few times now, most recently for her 10th birthday party. That had been amazing, with the whole place covered in decorations of her favourite butterflies and dinosaurs. There had also been the most beautiful birthday cake she had ever seen, with a butterfly made of sugar perched in a dinosaur's footprint made of frosting. It had been presented to her by the man they said was her father, though she still had trouble remembering that sometimes, or believing that such a funny and interesting man could really belong to her. He had decorated his restaurant especially for her and invited her new classmates, but today it looked like the whole town was involved in getting ready for this party.

"But why is it a  _ Christmas _ party?" she asked. "It's summer time."

"It's not really a Christmas party," Aaron explained. "It's just … Haven."

Aaron was in her class at school and they sometimes played together at his gran's place. Today at the Gull, they had been banished to the balcony outside while the adults got the restaurant ready for the party, and they were now perched on a pile of boxes to peer through the window without (hopefully) being noticed.

"There are Christmas decorations, and cake and a Christmas tree. Stan has reindeer antlers on his head!" Jean pointed out, in what she regarded as a compelling argument.

"Yes but it's not really Christmas. It's just this one party. The only presents are ones that you share with someone else, and there's no turkey. It's just … a party. For everyone to remember that we're all glad we're here."

Jean looked at him dubiously. "Why would we forget?"

Aaron shrugged. "Sometimes people aren't here. My parents aren't here, you weren't always here."

"Yes but I was just, somewhere else," she objected, confused.

"I don't know, I think it's just a Haven thing. This town has a lot of history, my gran says. Did you know your dad saved my life when I was a baby?"

"No," said Jean, surprised and impressed. "What did he do?"

"I'm not exactly sure. But he did something. With her," Aaron added, pointing to Detective Parker.

"She's the one who saved me," Jean replied.

Aaron nodded. "Yes and I think the Chief helped to save both of them."

"Really?" asked Jean in wide-eyed astonishment, trying to square this dramatic news with her impression of the quiet man she usually saw behind the piles of paperwork on his desk.

"Yes. They don't talk about it, but I think so."

Jean looked back into the restaurant, where her father, Detective Parker and the Chief of Police were decorating the tree. She watched as her father put one of the dinosaur decorations from her birthday on the top in place of a star, and she expected the others to laugh or take it down but they didn't. They just smiled at him and went back to adding decorations. Haven was different from where she had lived before, and she was always very aware of being … new. But now, suddenly, she felt very aware indeed of how much she belonged, Here in this place, and here with these people.

"I suppose that's why it's good to remember that we're all glad we're here,” Aaron finished. “Because, all of us might not have been."


End file.
